René Daumal (; 16 March 1908 – 21 May 1944) was a French spiritual para-

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

writer,

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, best known for his posthumously published novel ''

Mount Analogue ''Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing'' is a classic allegorical adventure novel by the early 20th-century French novelist René Daumal. The novel describes an expedition undertaken by ...

'' (1952) as well as for being an early, outspoken practitioner of

pataphysics Pataphysics (french: 'pataphysique) is a " philosophy" of science invented by French writer Alfred Jarry (1873–1907) intended to be a parody of science. Difficult to be simply defined or pinned down, it has been described as the "science of im ...

Biography

Boulzicourt (Ardennes) maison natale René Daumal

Boulzicourt (Ardennes) plaque maison natale René Daumal

Daumal was born in

Boulzicourt Boulzicourt () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardennes department The following is a list of the 449 communes of the Ardennes department of France. The communes coope ...

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

, France. In his late teens his

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

poetry was published in France's leading journals. As an adolescent, Daumal co-founded the art group ''Les Phrères Simplistes'' with the poets Roger Gilbert-Lecomte and

Roger Vailland Roger Vailland (16 October 1907 – 12 May 1965) was a French novelist, essayist, and screenwriter. Biography Vailland was born in Acy-en-Multien, Oise. His novels include the prize winning ''Drôle de jeu'' (1945), ''Les mauvais coups'' (1948) ...

. They would later co-found the literary journal ''Le Grand Jeu'', which published three issues between 1928 and 1930. Although courted by

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

, the journal was founded as a counter to

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

and

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

; the Surrealists reacted to its publication with some hostility. He is best known in the English-speaking world for two novels: ''

A Night of Serious Drinking ''A Night of Serious Drinking'' (french: La Grande Beuverie) is an allegorical novel, published 1938, by the French surrealist writer René Daumal René Daumal (; 16 March 1908 – 21 May 1944) was a French spiritual para-surrealist writer ...

'', and the

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

novel '' Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing'', both based upon his friendship with Alexander de Salzmann, a pupil of G. I. Gurdjieff. Daumal was

self-taught Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

in the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

language and translated some of the Tripitaka

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

canon into the French language, as well as translating the literature of the Japanese

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

scholar

D.T. Suzuki , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...

into French. He married the Bulgarian émigré Vera Milanova, the former wife of the poet Hendrik Kramer; after Daumal's death, she married the landscape architect

Russell Page Montague Russell Page (1 November 1906 – 4 January 1985) was a British gardener, garden designer and landscape architect. He worked in the UK, western Europe and the United States of America. Biography Montague Russell Page was born in Lin ...

Death

Daumal's sudden and premature death from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

on 21 May 1944 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

may have been hastened by youthful experiments with drugs and psychoactive chemicals, including

carbon tetrachloride Carbon tetrachloride, also known by many other names (such as tetrachloromethane, also IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry, recognised by the IUPAC, carbon tet in the cleaning industry, Halon-104 in firefighting, and Refrigerant-10 in HVAC ...

. He died leaving his novel ''Mount Analogue'' unfinished, having worked on it until the day of his death. He is buried at Cimetière parisien de Pantin in

Pantin Pantin () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019 its population was estimated to be 59,846. Pantin is located on the edge of the city of Paris and is mainly formed by a plain ...

, a municipality just outside Paris.

Legacy

The motion picture ''The Holy Mountain'' by

Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films '' El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his wor ...

is based largely on Daumal's ''Mount Analogue''.

Bibliography

Works by René Daumal in English translation

*''Le Contre-Ciel (Le contre-ciel)'', Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2005. *''Le Contre-Ciel: The Anti-Heaven, Part One'', Black River Falls, Wisconsin, 2002. transl. and with an introduction by Jordan Jones. *''Le Contre-Ciel: The Anti-Heaven, Parts Two and Three'', Black River Falls, Wisconsin, 2003. transl. Jordan Jones. *''A Fundamental Experiment'', New York / Madras: Hanuman Books, 1987; first published: René Daumal, "A Fundamental Experiment", X magazine, Vol. I, No. I (November 1959). *''The Lie of the Truth and Other Parables from the Way of Liberation'', New York / Madras: Hanuman Books, 1989. *''

(Le mont analogue)'', Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2004. *''Mugle and the Silk (Mugle; La soie)'', New York,

Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press or Mellen Press is an international Independent business, independent company and Academic publisher, academic publishing house with editorial offices in Lewiston (town), New York, Lewiston, New York, and Lampeter, Lampete ...

, 1997. *''

(La grande beuverie)'', Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2003. *'' Pataphysical Essays'', Cambridge: Wakefield Press, 2012. *''The Powers of the Word (1927–1943) (Les pouvoirs de la parole)'', San Francisco: City Lights, 1991. *'Rasa or Knowledge of the Self' Essays on Indian Aesthetics and Selected Sanskrit Studies. New York: New Directions, 1982.* ed. Claudio Rugafiori, transl. Louise Landes Levi, Repr. Kathamndu, Nepal, Shivastan, 2002 & 2006 (each edition 333 copies). *''You've Always Been Wrong (Tu t'es toujours trompé)'', Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995. transl. Thomas Vosteen. *''René Daumal, Letters on the Search for Awakening, 1930–1944'', Toronto: Dolmen Meadow Editions, 2010. transl. Gabriela Ansari and Roger Lipsey, with an introduction by Roger Lipsey.

References

External links

Gurdjeiff International Review

''Skin of Light'' and ''Last Letter to his Wife''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daumal, Rene 1908 births 1944 deaths People from Ardennes (department) 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis French surrealist writers Tuberculosis deaths in France Pataphysicians Translators to French 20th-century French translators 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French poets French male poets French male novelists 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers Students of George Gurdjieff